Nation

Toddler on life support after suspected abuse

PETALING JAYA: A toddler, who is on life support after falling unconscious with internal bleeding in the brain, is suspected by her family to have been abused by the nanny.

The parents rushed the 18-month-old baby to the Sungai Buloh Hospital when she was suddenly seized by spasms and fell unconscious at about 9.30pm on Thursday.

Her uncle said the father had earlier picked the toddler up from her nanny, who is also a neighbour at a condominium here.

“She looked very weak then and her body was shaking but she didn’t have any injury marks on her body. When her father asked the nanny what had happened, she told him that the child fell from her chair while sleeping,” he said.

Doctors later told the parents that the child had blood clots and was suffering from internal bleeding in her brain.

The parents lodged a report against the nanny at the Damansara police station the same night.

The child is now on life support after doctors were forced to surgically remove the top of her skull to alleviate the swelling in her brain.

The uncle said doctors had also told the family that they would need to operate on the child.

OCPD Asst Comm Azmi Abu Kassim said police were still establishing if foul play was involved and that the nanny, who is in her 30s, would be called in for questioning.

In another case, a seven-month-old baby girl was pronounced dead at the Serdang Hospital on Thursday after falling unconscious in the care of her nanny.

“The child was being taken care of by a neighbour in Taman Lestari Putra, Seri Kembangan, and allegedly fell unconscious at around 2.30pm on Tuesday.

“She died in the intensive care unit two days later,” said Serdang deputy OCPD Supt Yong Soo Koon.

“A post-mortem is being carried out at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and the case has been classified as sudden death.

“However, we are looking to see if there was foul play,” said Supt Yong, adding that the child’s parents did not suspect abuse.